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ENERGY

EXPLAINED: What is Spain’s new winter energy saving plan?

After slapping limits on everything from air-con temperatures to a timetable for shops to turn lights on and off, the Spanish government has released another round of energy saving measures as we head into the winter.

Published: 11 October 2022 16:47 CEST
EXPLAINED: What is Spain's new winter energy saving plan?
Spanish Environment and Energy Minister Teresa Ribera. Photo: JOHN THYS/AFP

On Tuesday, October 11th Spain’s Council of Ministers gave the green light to its ‘Plan for More Energy Security’, a sweeping set of 73 measures that are intended to reduce Spain’s energy consumption by between 5.1 percent and 13.5 percent this winter.

In doing so the Spanish government are not only satisfying rules set out by the European Commission, such as reducing consumption by 5 percent during peak time, but also taking steps to try and further reduce gas and electricity prices domestically.

The measures

The measures are largely focused on energy savings and efficiency, supporting transition to more ecological energy, protecting consumers amid record-level utilities bills, and a commitment to European standards and solidarity.

Speaking to the Spanish press, the Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, described the plans as necessary steps “to guarantee greater affordability at the price of energy and greater solidarity for with the other Europeans.”

Some of the measures include €500 million set aside in aid to promote energy self-consumption, tax breaks for those that invest in energy transition, discounts for 1.6 million houses with community boilers, and the continuation of the thermal and electricity bonuses to help struggling Spaniards pay their bills.

On top of this, the Spanish government wants to create a greater level transparency for electricity bills, and to expand in more detail the financial impact of the so-called ‘Iberian exception’ on bills. Moving forward, exactly how much this saves consumers will be made clearer on the bill.

Interestingly, the plan does not include any specific reference to hugely the energy-intensive Christmas lighting customary across Spain over the winter months. It does, however, require local government have to analyse their energy consumption and reduce it if it possible.

READ ALSO: Electricity prices in Spain hit record high

Despite its approval by the Council of Ministers, only a handful of the measures included in the plan are known. According to sources in the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the full raft of measures will be outlined in the coming weeks.

Summer savings

The measures come following a previous swathe of energy saving steps approved in August, including limits on temperature (air conditioning at a minimum of 27C in summer and the heat a maximum of 19C in winter) in all in public buildings, cinemas, hotels and public buildings; turning off the lights in shop windows at ten o’clock at night; and the automatic closing of doors.

READ ALSO: Shop lights out and air con set at 27C: What is Spain’s energy saving plan?

Ribera estimates that the summer measures made consumption savings of 4.6 percent in electricity and 3.4 percent in gas, and the government ruled out any gas or electricity cuts or rationing as we head into autumn and winter

With the cooler temperatures closing in, Spain has increased its gas imports by over 12 percent so far this year, stockpiling the highest level since 2008. Gas reserves – both natural and liquefied – are expected to exceed 90 percent capacity in October.

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PROPERTY

Too hot or too cold: Spain’s homes struggle to keep comfortable temperatures

Amid rising temperatures and more extreme weather, new data reveals that a significant proportion of Spaniards are struggling to keep their homes at comfortable temperatures during the winter and summer months.

Published: 14 May 2024 09:51 CEST
Too hot or too cold: Spain's homes struggle to keep comfortable temperatures

Spaniards are increasingly finding it difficult to keep their houses at comfortable temperatures during the summers and winters, and the problem has grown markedly over the last decade.

This follows new data released from Living Conditions Survey recently published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), which revealed that over a quarter of families in Spain struggle to heat their homes sufficiently in winter and that a third are too hot in summer.

The percentage of households reporting difficulties in keeping their homes at a comfortable temperature has increased by almost ten percent overall in the last decade.

READ ALSO: Why are Spanish homes so cold?

In the colder months, the proportion that say they can’t keep their property sufficiently warm during winter has grown from 17.9 percent in 2012 to 27.5 percent in 2023.

The summer heat poses an even greater problem for Spaniards. The percentage of households struggling to keep their homes cool enough during the summer months has risen from a quarter (24.8 percent) to over a third (33.6).

READ ALSO: Ten ways to protect your Spanish property against the summer heat

This comes as Spain faces record breaking temperatures year round and rising energy costs. According to Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), 2023 was the third hottest summer since records began, surpassed only by 2022 and 2003.

In summer 2023 alone, four official heat waves were recorded, lasting a total of 24 days.

READ ALSO: How the right orientation of your Spanish home can save you hundreds on energy bills

However, though rising temperatures clearly play a role, so too does geography, income, and poor energy efficiency caused by poor insulation.

Murcia is the region where the highest proportion of households have problems keeping their homes cool in the summer, with almost half of families polled saying they are in this situation (46.6 percent). Murcia was followed by Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, Aragón and Extremadura, where the figure is 36 percent.

At the other extreme, in the cooler, northern regions of Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia, it is not even 20 percent.

Despite that, it is also the southern regions that struggle the most with keeping their houses warm enough during the winter. Murcia is once again the region where the highest percentage of families are unable to keep their homes at an adequate temperature over the colder months.

40.1 percent of Murcianos say they find it difficult to heat their homes over winter. In Andalusia and Extremadura the figure is almost 35 percent, the other two regions that top the list, meaning the three most southern regions of Spain came out on top.

In contrast, in Navarre, Castilla y León​​, and the Basque Country, less than a fifth (20 percent) of households report problems maintaining a sufficiently warm temperature at home during winter.

Household income also factors into this problem. INE data shows that the proportion of households struggling to maintain an adequate temperature in their homes increases as average income decreases. Among families with the lowest income levels, 38.9 percent say that they are cold in winter and 41.3 percent say that they are too hot in summer.

Of the regions that struggle to keep their homes warm or cool enough, Murcia, Andalusia and Extremadura all have some of the lowest median per capita incomes in the whole country, along with some of the highest levels of poverty.

Equally, the parts of the country where this seems to be less of a problem, such as the Basque Country, Galicia, and Navarre, are some of the wealthiest regions of Spain.

Housing quality and insulation also contribute to poor energy efficiency, which in turn makes temperature control more difficult. Even among households with high incomes, 15 percent say that they are unable to heat their property sufficiently in winter and 24.8 percent struggle to keep it cool enough in summer.

According to INE data, a quarter (25.1 percent) of Spanish households have not made any improvements to their thermal insulation or heating system in the last year, significantly more than the 14.1 percent who have been able to make changes.

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